Fri - Sat, 9.30 pm, Zee TV
We know that there has been an overdose of song and dance reality shows and if the very thought of them makes you nauseous, we don't blame you. But Zee's Dance India Dance, which sees the debut of disco dancer Mithun Chakraborty as the 'grandmaster' or the maha judge is a fairly enjoyable watch. Sure, there are boring hosts and the same tried and tested eliminations, emotions running riot and so on but the participants more than make up for the regular elements of a reality show with their impeccable footwork and spunk on the dance floor.
The show has 18 participants divided into three groups, with six each - Remo D'Souza ke Rangeele (Remo specialises in hip-hop, etc), Geeta Kapoor Ki Gang (Geeta's forte is Bollywood jhatkas) and Terence Lewis ki Toli (Lewis is all for contemporary dance). Each week, the kids dance for the grandmaster in twos or threes (like last week, they did in threes), invite comments from the three mentors while Mithunda gives the final verdict. That is on day one. On day 2, each mentor nominates two contestants (every week there will be two eliminations till there are ten contestants left after which 10 will come in as wild card entries out of which two will be picked up and thereafter there will be one elimination every week) who they think were the weakest performers the day before. The six then put up a solo performance and the grandmaster eliminates two out of them at the end of the show.
The show largely works because of the participants - they are just super and when you see the judges weeping copiously when their kids either put up a brave show or get eliminated, it's understandable. Those who come to mind are contestants like this guy, Salman (that's what his friends call him) who had even floored Salman Khan with his immaculate performance, his two partners who also happen to be real-life sisters, together the three are magic on the floor; then there is the horizontally challenged Nonie Sachdeva, she can give all the model-types a run for their money with her energetic moves; then there is Rakhi, a Punjabi NRI who has loads of attitude and has the judges, the guests and Mithunda in splits with her bindaas Englicised Punjabi lingo. Looks like Zee has decided to choose one such character like Rakhi (remember the Arab chick of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2008 who would talk in half-broken Hindi and play to the gallery with her 'Mere oonth ko danda kisne maara' ) to get the laughs! Then there is Mangesh from the slums who dances like a dream and dreams of buying a house for his mother. The other contestants too are ek se badhkar ek when it comes to the grooves and the moves and it's going to be a helluva task for the three mentors and Mithun to pick the best.
What we also like besides the quality of dancers are the three judges who share a great chemistry with each of their protgs - everyone seems to be on the same page. But then these are early days. Last but not the least, it's nice to watch Mithun dole out his bits of advice in small measures. He's warm, polite, encouraging, generous in praise and stern by turns.
Verdict: This one will have the left-footers too, tapping their feet.
So there will be wild Card Entries.
But I don't understand the Six contestants part and two contestants getting eliminated.
I think Public Voting will start when there are 6 contestans left.
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
